Hogwarts' 25 Days of Christmas
by CrossingCamille
Summary: The Christmas holiday has finally arrived for the anxious Hogwarts' students. Due to some unfortunate events Albus, James, and Rose have to spend their break at Hogwarts. Albus has the Christmas blues until mysterious events interject his holiday.
1. Christmas Blues

"Are you sure you ll be okay, dear?" Albus merely sighed, shedding a grin for his worrying mother. Her words echoed where they stood outside the Great Hall.

"I'll be fine, Mum. You and Dad enjoy visiting Uncle Charlie," Ginny twisted her lips in concern before kissing Albus' forehead. She would calm down once her and Harry were on their way to Romania.

"I had better see Arianrhod at my window at least once. Make sure your brother does the same," Albus nodded, taking in each of his mom's demands, "and Albus?"

"Yes, Mum?"

"Try to keep James out of trouble. If I get one more letter about exploding toilets and jinxed doorknobs I will personally come down here and he will wish I had let McGonagall take care of him."

"I'll do what I can. I love you. I'll see you again before you know it," Albus comforted his mom as she enveloped him in a hug. Ginny released him and smiled one last time at her baby boy before apparating.

Albus stared a few more seconds at the empty air where his mom had once stood and then stepped into the Great Hall. His eyes scanned the long tables until they landed upon a red-headed girl leaning intently over a book. Albus made his way down the rows of tables and took a seat beside her.

"Has Aunt Ginny left?" spoke the voice of the fiery hair.

"She just did. I assume Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione are gone also?" Albus inquired as Rose looked up from her book, half shutting it with one hand.

"They did. I wish we could have all spent Christmas together this year," Rose lamented.

"I know. I feel so sorry for Uncle Charlie being in such bad shape, but I suppose that's the dangers of working with dragons," Albus stared at the wood grains of the table, sympathizing for his uncle. He shrugged, attempting to shake off a bit of the gloom, and rose from the table. "I think I'm going to go back to the Common Room for a bit. I'll see you at dinner?"

The book had reopened and only a curtain of red hair spoke to Albus again, "Of course! Scorpius wanted to say goodbye to both of us tonight before he left for break too."

Albus merely nodded in acknowledgement and turned away from his cousin. He made his way out of the Great Hall and up the changing staircases to the portrait of the Fat Lady. She had on a sequined, red dress in celebration of the holiday season, gracefully poised underneath a clump of mistletoe. Her chubby hand held a glass of champagne while the other had an appetizer from a nearby painting.

Just as Albus opened his mouth to speak the password, the painting swung towards him, causing him to stumble backwards in surprise. James exited the hole behind the portrait and cocked an eyebrow at his brother on the ground. A chuckle slipped between James' lips as he extended a hand to his brother.

"Do you often sit in front of the Fat Lady? Have nice chats?" James teased as Albus dusted himself off.

"No. I was about to go in when you came out. I was just caught a bit off-guard and I tripped is all," James leaned against the stair railing, amused. Albus wasn't fooled for a second. He could already see the mischievous gears turning in James' head. "Mum told me to make sure you stay out of trouble."

"Did she now? Well, I will certainly do my best to be out of trouble around you, Al," A devilish smirk crept across James' lips before he descended the staircase.

Albus looked after his brother, wondering what plan he had managed to cook up this time. His mother was not going to be happy to receive another letter, but he also doubted she would be surprised. Breathing a sigh of surrender, Albus entered the portrait hole and collapsed on the couch. The Common Room held an unusual silence, locked in tight from the rest of the castle. Clearing his mind, Albus allowed the crackle of the fireplace to fill his ears as sleep overwhelmed him.


	2. Revealer

Day 1

Albus squinted in the darkness, slightly disoriented as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. He slid off the couch and straightened himself up before daring to take a step forward.

"Lumos," Albus scanned the empty Common Room, but there was no one to be found. As he dragged his feet to the portrait hole, Albus was soon falling head over heels onto the Common Room floor. Being more than annoyed, Albus leapt from the floor to face his assailant. The shadows of the furniture smiled back, concealing a secret.

"Incendio," The fireplace roared to life while he muttered a quick "knox" to his wand.

Albus spun in a circle, wand at the ready. Only silence greeted his hostility. Feeling foolish, Albus lowered his wand and dropped his gaze to the floor. There at his feet lay the perpetrator, a green and red wrapped box. Albus bent down and picked up the present, bringing it near his face for examination. Attached to the bright, green bow was a piece of paper that read, "Mr. Albus Severus Potter."

A look of confusion consumed Albus' face as he returned to his seat on the couch. A gift for him? Who could it be from? It was only the first day of December, hardly time to be giving presents. Perhaps his mother and father had left it for him as an apology for not being able to spend Christmas together.

Slowly Albus pulled at the delicate green bow and peeled away the red wrapping paper. He popped open the lid and then hesitantly leaned over the opening. Inside laid a small, red eraser. Albus reached inside and picked up the strange artifact, not entirely certain of its purpose. Who would have given him this? At the bottom of the box was a yellowed piece of parchment paper. This present was only getting more bizarre. Albus stared at the eraser in his hand, perplexed. Finally he shook his head and slipped it and the parchment into his pocket. He would ask Rose about it later. Rose! He had nearly forgotten about dinner!

Albus jumped up from the couch and raced out of the portrait hole and down the winding staircases. When he reached the Great Hall doors he took a deep breath to compose himself and pushed them open. The Great Hall was packed as everyone enjoyed their final meal before the holiday break. Massive hams, potatoes, breads, and many other mouth-watering dishes occupied the tables. Albus briskly made his way to the Gryffindor table to take a seat beside Scorpius Malfoy.

"It's about time you made it! I thought my own best mate was going to skip out on saying goodbye," Scorpius jibed while stuffing a fork full of roast into his mouth.

"Sorry, Scor. I slept a little longer than I meant to. You know I wouldn't miss seeing you off," Rose shot Albus a quizzical glance as he began filling his plate with as much food as possible. "Something wrong, Rose?"

"Where did that bruise come from, Al?" Albus glanced down at his forearm to see a greyish, purple circle had formed.

"Oh. I hadn't noticed. I guess it must have happened when I tripped earlier," Apparently this simple answer did not satisfy her curiosity. Before he could say anything else, Rose's hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Tripped? It looks like you got hit by a bludger," Rose examined the bruise as if it would suddenly begin to tell her the answer she desired.

"Well, I fell asleep in the Common Room and when I woke up it was pitch black. I tripped over a present in the floor and I must have hit my arm," Albus explained, pulling his wrist from Rose's grasp so he could eat.

"Whose present?" Scorpius joined in the interrogation.

"It was for me. Here, Rose." Albus pulled the red eraser from his pocket, "I thought you might know what this is." Rose took the eraser and turned the object over in her hands. Then a smile lit her lips as she looked back up at Albus.

"This is a Revealer. It allows you to read invisible ink," Rose certainly lived up to the brilliance of her mother. Albus took the eraser back and gazed upon it in a new light. Invisible ink, eh? Remembering the parchment, Albus' hand dove back into his pocket to retrieve it.

"This was at the bottom of the box," Albus wasted no time using the magical eraser on the parchment. At first nothing happened and then purple ink began to dance across the page. It read:

_"Where there is no curiosity, there is no knowledge."_

"What does that mean?" Scorpius leaned against Albus' shoulder to read the hidden message. Albus only shrugged his shoulders, mesmerized by the odd gift.

The rest of the meal was consumed with discussion about the present and its message. Who was it from? Why did they send it? Was it simply a prank? Questions swirled in Albus' mind, but he felt no closer to finding an answer to them. After dinner, Albus said farewell to Scorpius and promised to keep him updated if he found out anything about the gift. Then, Albus decided to turn in for the night. Something this peculiar would require his full attention tomorrow if he wanted to discover the truth.

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